Bath replacement on Merseyside

What does a replacement bath cost on Merseyside?

Our guide range on Merseyside is £850–£2,400 including VAT. Prices on Merseyside run at about 6% below the UK guide, based on North West England labour rates.

Guide prices for Merseyside including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.

Which towns do we cover on Merseyside?

• Liverpool
• Birkenhead
• St Helens
• Southport
• Wallasey
• Bootle
• Bebington
• Huyton
• Kirkby
• Prescot
• Heswall
• Maghull
• Newton-le-Willows
• Golborne
• Formby
• Litherland
• Speke
• Garston
• Halewood
• Moreton
• Haydock
• Hunts Cross
• Allerton

Supplies across most of Merseyside are soft. In soft water, taps, wastes and toilet pans scale up slowly, so brushed and matt finishes are a safe choice. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. Survey visits in Liverpool cover the bath, the tiles around it and the waste route, so the quote reflects your bathroom rather than a standard job.

What the job includes

• Filling the bath before sealing, so the silicone cures with the bath at its heaviest
• Levelling the bath on adjustable feet or a cradle, with timber battens fixed to the walls under the rim
• Leak testing at the waste, overflow and taps, taking the old bath away and a final clean
• Tile repairs or re-tiling around the bath, and a fixed screen where there is a shower over it
• Removal of the old bath, including breaking up a cast-iron bath in place where it will not come out whole
• A survey of the bath opening, the floor, the waste route, the supplies and the tiles around the bath

Decisions to make first

Bath panel

Acrylic panels are cheap and easy to clean; wood-effect panels match fitted furniture; a tiled panel on a frame looks built-in but needs an access hatch for the waste.

Size

Most UK baths are 1700 × 700 mm. Going longer or wider than the old bath means re-tiling and checking that the new one fits up the stairs.

Shower bath

A P-shaped or L-shaped bath is wider at the shower end, giving room to stand and space for a fixed screen instead of a curtain.

Taps or filler

Deck taps on the rim are the simplest swap. Wall-mounted taps or a bath filler look cleaner but mean opening the wall, and an overflow filler hides the spout altogether.

Rules that apply in England

Replacing a bath in an existing bathroom does not need planning permission, and a straight swap is not normally building regulations work. New taps or a filler must meet the water fittings rules where you live, including backflow protection. If the new bath is much heavier than the old one, such as a cast-iron or stone resin freestanding bath, the floor needs checking, and strengthening joists is structural work that may need building control approval.

In England, Part G limits the hot water to a new bath to 48 °C at the outlet, usually with a thermostatic mixing valve, but only in a new dwelling or one created by a change of use. It does not apply to a replacement bath in an existing home, though a thermostatic valve is still sensible where children or older people bathe. New wiring for a shower over the bath or new lights is notifiable under Part P.